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R. H. WAGEB.

BRIDGE WALL FOR BOILERS. APPLICATION man Ams. 191s. nENEwED APR. 7. 1919.

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BRIDGE WALL FOR BOILERS.

APPucATmN msn APR. 9, 191s. neuewen APR. 1. ms.

1,321,168. 4 Patented N0v.11,1919.

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BRIDGE WALL FOB BOILEBS.

APPLICATION FILED APII. 9. 1918. IIEIIEwIzD APR. 1. I9I9.

1 ,32 1, 1 68. Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

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APPLICATION FILED APR.'9, I9I8. IIENEWED APH. 7. I9I9. 1,321,168, Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

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'ren srarns rafrnqur onirica ROBERT H. WAG-ER, OF' JERSEY CITYNEW JERSEY.

y BRIDGE-WALL FOR BOILERS.

meines.

Application led April 9, 1918, Serial No. 227,493.

7b ZZ :inkom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT HUDSON llaenr., citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City. in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements vin Bridge-Walls for Boilers; and I do declare. the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in bridge walls for furnaces, particularly the boiler furnaces of ocean-going vessels in which it is often necessary to burnoil while traveling to certain ports and to burn coal on the return voyage. In order to convert the furnaces for burning oil,.it is necessary to remove the bridge wall and other interior parts and to place the oil burners and baflies in the furnaces. Heretofore, considerable time and labor has been necessary in transforming the furnace from one use to the other, and one of the objects of my invention, therefore, is to provide `a bridge wall and supporting means therefor which may be quickly and easily applied or removed.

A further object is to provide a bridge wall constructed for supplying air to the fire in the proper quantities, when either a natural draft or a forced draft is used. Heretofore, dampers of numerous kinds, operated manually, have been employed for this purpose, but it has been found that the firemen often close the dampers to cut down the inow of air when necessary and then fail to again open said dampers, with the result that the bridge wall is often burned out. Due to the-nature of the present invention, however, the air supply is uninterrupted when using natural draft, and when forced draft is employed, a choke plate is positioned in the air supply opening so that only the required amount of air may pass therethough.

Yet another object of the invention is to so mount the above-mentioned choke plate as to permit a rocking movement thereof from numerous causes to be herein set forth, this rocking together with the novel shape ofthe plate serving to prevent the accumulation of any ashes or cinders thereon.

The bridge wall is constructed of a plurality of'comparatively flat sections extending transversely of said wall, and air is Specification of Letters Patent.

' vention;

Patented N ov. 11, 1919.

Renewed April 7, 1919. Serial No. 288,224.

supplied .to the fire from the spaces between said sections, 'an additional object 'being` to provide spacing ribs on the several sections to hold them in correctly spaced relation, the upper ends of said ribs being inclined downwardly and forwardly to prevent the accumulation ofashes and the like thereon while the lower ends of said ribs incline up- Ywardly and forwardly to deiiect the incoming air toward the fire.

With the foregoing general objects in.V

view, the invention resides in certain nove-l featuresl of construction and unique combinations of partsV to behereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter beingsupplement'ed 'by the accompanying `drawings which form a part of this specification, and in which: Y

' Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a boiler equipped with the present in- Y Fig. is a horizontal section on the plane of the line 2 2 ofFig. 1, with a number of kbridge wall sections removed;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on substantially the plane of the line 3--3 of Fig. 1, a portion of the bridge wall support being shown in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the plane indicated by the line 4`4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 'is an enlarged transverse section of the bridge wall and its support;

Fig. 6 is va front elevation of the chair carried at the upper edge of the bridge wall support upon which the several sections of the wall are supported;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the chair;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section thereof on the plane of the line 8 8 of Fig. 6;

Figs. 9 and 9n are top plan views of two forms of the diagonal arms used in anchoring the bridge wall support;

Fig. 10 is a transverse section on the plane vof the line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

wall supporting plate shown in Figs. 1e and 15.

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates a horizontal furnace of well-known formation, the furnace wall being circuimferentially corrugated as seen clearly in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Extending across the lower portion of the furnace 1 at the rear end of the latter is a vertical bridge wall supporting plate 2 having a bridge wall chair 3 at its upper end upon which the several sections 4 of the wall are mounted. The plate 2 is preferably in the form of a casting and is provided on its upper edge with a rearwardly extending flange 5 having longitudinal slots 6 through which bolts 7 pass for securing the horizontal portion of ledge 8 of the chair 3 to said flange, the ledge in question having transverse slots 9 through which the aforesaid bolts extend. The heads of these bolts are countersunk at 10 in the ledOe 8 and in order to reinforce said ledge sufliciently to compensate for the countersinks, its lower side is by preference increased in thickness as shown at 11 (see dotted lines in Figs. G and 7, and full lines in Figs. 5 and 8).

The ledge 8 is formed with a suitable number of longitudinal openings 12 for supplying air to the lire through the spaces between the several bridge wall sections 4f and along the edges of said openings, ribs 13 are preferably formed for reinforcing purposes. `Webs 1st extend transversely across the lower side of the ledge 8 and preferably join the ribs 13 and the downwardly directed front edge 15 of said ledge. Other webs 16 extend across the ends of the ledge 8 on its upper side and strengthen said ledge as well as bracing the chair back 17 in respect thereto. The back is reinforced on its rear side by vertical ribs 18 and a longitudinal rib 19, said ribs 18 and 19 being located respectively near the ends and at the upper edge of said back to prevent warping of these portions. The front edge 15 of the ledge 8 may vary in design according to the Construction of the furnace grate 2O and the inclined structure shown is not therefore to be considered as a necessary feature of my invention.

For securing the supporting wall 2 and its chair 3 rigidly in the furnace in a. manner to permit quick and easy removal, a pair of oblique arms 22 of one piece formation (Figs. 1-10) or sectional construction (Fig. 9a) are provided at the ends of said plate, adjacent its front side; and either a foot 23 (Figs. 1, 3, l, 5, and 13) extends rearwardly from the lower edge of said plate, or feet 23 (Figs. 1l, 15 and 16) extend forwardly therefrom. The inner ends of the arms 22 are provided with flat attaching heads 24 underlying horizontal ribs 25 which are cast on the front side of plate 2 near its upper edge,

said heads having vertical slots or notches 26 receiving bolts 27 for securing said heads to the aforesaid plate. This plate is provided with horizontal slots 28 through which bolts 27 pass and it will-thus be obvious that the arms may be extended to engage the corrugations of the 4boiler wall (see Fig. 3), or may be easily retracted or totally removed, to permit removal of the plate 2. It will be seen that the arms 22 and the foot or feet 23- 23 prevent movement of the plate 2, either forwardly or rearwardly. )Vlien the arms 22 and the single foot 23 are used they grip or clamp one of the internal ribs R of the corrugated furnace therebetween as seen in Figs. 1 and 3.

)When a plurality of feet 23 are employed, however, located at the front side of the plate 2 (Figs. 1a, 15 and 16), these feet and the arms 22 thrust outwardly against the remote walls `W of two adjacent grooves g of the corrugated furnace wall. Thus in either case, the wall 2 is rigidly held in vertical position.

By employing the anchoring means described for the supporting plate 2, it is unnecessary todrill and tap thewall of the furnace and use studs or the like, and thus the now prevalent dithculties are overcome, particularly when the bridge wall and its supporting means are to be removed for burning oil. This is of great advantage since actual experience has taught that any studs used in the furnace wall will burn out in little time when subjected to the severe heat. Furthermore, a great saving of time is effected by the. new arrangement. lhenever it is required to remove the bridge wall and the supporting means thereof, the sections l of said wall are detached from the chair 3, said chair is detached from the wall 2 by removing the bolts 7, and said wall 2 is then freed by loosening or totally removing the arms 22 which in use underlie the downturned edge 15 of the ledge and serve to prevent breakage thereof. The device is easily removable with the expenditure of little time and may be again installed with the same advantages. During this operation it is not necessary to waste material as occurs with the arrangements now commonly used.

The rear edges of the bridge wall sections l are provided with rectangular notches 30 and with lugs 31 depending from the upper sides of said notches in rearwardly spaced relation with the front sides thereof. These lugs seat loosely behind the longitudinal anchor bar 32, which is secured to the back 17 of the chair 3 by stud bolts 33, being spaced in advance of said back by sleeves 34. By this arrangement, it is necessary to first raise any of the sections 4 and to then move Said section forwardly in order to remove the same, and it will be obvious that no danger,

therefore, eXists of remen dislocating any of the sections when breaking up the fire.

The lower ends of the sections 4 are formed with notches 35 which aline with each other and communicate with the openings 12, whereby toform an air channel eX* tending through the lowerrpart of the bridge wall and adaptedl to supply thin sheets of air to the spaces between the several sections, thus maintaining them at a sufficient-ly low temperature to prevent burning out. Air is supplied to the fire through notches 86 and 36a in lateral ribs 37 formed on opposite sides of the several sections 4, along the upwardly and rearwardly curving front edges thereof. The ribs of the several sections abut each other and thus hold the body portions of said sections in correctly spaced relation, additional spacing ribs 38, however', being preferably' provided on opposite sides of the sections 4 around the notches 3Q. The lower ends of the ribs 38 incline upwardly and forwardly at 39 to direct the air from the openings 12 forwardly through the notches 36 while the upper ends 40 of the ribs in question incline downwardly and forwardly from the rear ends ofthe ribs 37, this inclination being employed to prevent ashes and cinders dropping through the upper notches 36 from accumulating on the ribs.

IVhen the furnace is operating under natural draft, only the features of construction so far as described are employed. When, however, a forced or induced draft is to be used, it is necessary to choke down the passage of air through the openings 12. For this purpose, I provide choke plates 41, receivable loosely in the aforesaid openings so that only a small amount of air is permitted to pass 'between the edges of the plates and the walls'of the openings. The ends of the plates 41 are preferably provided with trunnions 42 disposed above the center of gravity and resting upon the ledge 8 to roll thereon between the pairs of stops The top of each choke plate 41 inclincs downwardly from its longitudinal center to its edges and any ashes or cinders falling onto said plates will thus be discharged therefrom, as tilting of the plates takes pla-ce from any cause.

This tilting takes place first when the forced or induced draft is again turned on after coaling; second7 when ashes have accumulated on one edge of the plate suflic-iently to overbalance said plates; and third, when the ship rolls or tosses roughly. Tilting of the plates 41 when the forced or induced draft is turned on is caused by the sudden action of the strong air currents on said plates, and the uneven accumulation of ashes on the plates in question is due to the fact that the front edges of said plates are located directly under the notches 36f1 vwhich are of greater width than the other notches and consequently permit more ashes to fall. It is thus upon the front edges of the plates 41 that the ashes accumulate until sufficiently heavy to overbalance said plates. After each tilting` movement, the force of gravity returns the plates to their initial position to control thepassage of air through the openings 12, and it may here bel stated that although these plates swing in one direction or the other when discharging ashes and the like, the draft is not then lincreased since as one edge of any choke plate recedes from the adjacent wall of the opening, the other edge of said plate moves toward the wall adjacent which it is located. Thus, although the draft is increased at one edge of the plates, it is correspondingly decreased at the other edge.

At. their ends, the plates 41 are provided with depending anges 41a (Figs. 11 and 12) and the outer sides of said flanges have.

vertical downwardly tapering spacing ribs 41b formed thereon for contact lightly with the end wallsof the openings 12 to prevent binding of the ends of said plates against said end walls.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that although my invention is of comparatively simple construction, 'it will be highly efficient and durable. Particular -emphasis is laid on the novel means of securing the bridge wall support in place,

Vupon the provision of the self-righting -choke plates, and upon the inclined ends of the spacing ribs 38. Practically all details shown and described, however, are rather important since when constructing the invention in this manner, excellent rechanges which installation 'in individualA 'cases may require.

I claim:

1. In combination with a furnace, a'bridge wall supporteXtendi-ng across said furnace and having a lateral ledge, a bridge wall positioned above said ledge and having passages for supplying air to the fire, said ledge having a comparatively large opening for feeding the air to said passages, and an arched plate having its opposite edges spaced from the edges of said opening to choke down the passage of air through said opening when using a forced or induced draft.

2. ln combination with a furnace, a bridge wall support extending across said furnace and having a lateral ledge, a bridge wall positioned above said ledge and having passages for supplying air to the lire, said ledge having a comparatively large opening for feeding the air to said passages, and a rockably mounted self-righting choke plate receivable in said opening and of less size than the latter' to choke down the passage of air therethrough when using a forced or induced draft.

In combination with a furnace, a bridge wall support extending across said furnace and having a lateral ledge, a bridge wall positioned above said ledge and having passages for supplying air to the fire, said ledge having a comparatively large opening for feeding the air to said passages, and a rockably mounted self-righting choke plate receivable in said opening' to choke down the passage of air therethrough when lusing a forced or induced draft, said choke plate being of less size than said opening and having trunnions resting on said ledge above the center of gravity of said choke plate.

i. In combination with a furnace, a bridge wall support extending across said furnace and having a lateral ledge, a bridge wall positioned above said ledge and having passage-s for supplying air to the fire, said ledge having a comparatively large opening for feeding the air to said passage, and a rockably mounted self-righting choke plate receivably in said opening to choke down the passage of air therethrough when using a forced or induced draft, said choke plate being of less size than said opening and having central trunnions at its ends above its center of gravity, said trunnions resting on said ledge and having limited rocking movement thereon, and said choke plate inclining downwardly from its center to its edges.

5. A structure as specified in claim 2, the ends of said choke plate having central spacers to abut the end walls of said opening, whereby to prevent binding of said ends against said end walls.

6. A structure as specified in claim 2, the ends of said choke plate having depending flanges provided with central, vertically disposed, downwardly .tapering spacing ribs for contact with the end walls of said opening, whereby to prevent binding ofthe ends of the choke plate against said end walls.

7 In combination with a furnace, a bridge wall support extending across said furnace, and arms extending diagonally from said support adjustably secured thereto for holding the same in place, said arms contacting with the furnace wall.

8. In combination with a furnace, a bridge wall support extending across said furnace, arms extending diagonally from said support to the furnace wall to secure said support in place, said arms having diagonal attaching heads at one end, and means for removably securing said heads to said support.

9. A structure as specified in claim 8, said head securing means consist-ing of bolts passing through slots, whereby said arms rare rendered extensible on the plate.

10. In combination with a furnace, a horizon-tal bridge wall support extending across said furnace, means at the ends of said support for engagement with the furnace wall to removably securesaid support in place, and a foot on said support resting on the bottom of the furnace `to coact with said securing means in anchoring said support.

ll. ln combination with a furnace, a bridge wall support extending across said furnace, removable diagonal arms at the ends of said support and extending to the furnace wall, and a lateral foot extending from said support and resting on the bottom of the furnace to coact with said arms in anchoring said support.

l2. A structure as specified in claim 11, said furnace wall being circumferentially corrugated, and said arms and foot being shaped at their ends t0 engage the corrugations, whereby to receive opposite strains.

13. A bridge wall formed of a plurality of substantiallyv fiat vertical sections disposed side by side and having air spaces between them and air outlets in their front edges leading from said spaces, the rear edges of vsaid sections having notches, a retaining bar received in-said notches, spacing ribs formed on the sides of said sections, said ribs being substantially vertical in front of said notches and inclining rearwardly above and below said notches, and air supply means at the bottom of said wall, the inclined lower ends of said ribs serving to direct the incoming air forwardly and the inclined upper ends of said ribs preventing the accumulation of ashes and the like.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT H. waeren.

Copies of this patent may be obtained foimve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

